Game Story


Portland, ME — Following a three-goal third period, the Worcester Railers stole a win from the Maine Mariners on Sunday afternoon at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, Maine.

Henrik Tikkanen made 48 saves in his only appearance of the weekend. The Railers had a burst of energy in the second period, scoring three goals in under three minutes midway through the period to bring home their second win in Portland this weekend. Anthony Callin had two of Worcester’s goals with Andrei Bakanov scoring the second goal of the game. Grant Gabrielle and Alex Kile scored for Maine, while Francois Brassard and Michael DiPietro made a collective 16 saves in net on Sunday.

The Railers managed to squeeze out a win after failing to show up in the first and third periods. Zack Bross had an early boarding call at 1:54 that was killed off, with the Railers continuing to play as if they were on a penalty kill, struggling to get the puck out of their zone. The Railers were outshot 18-4 in the first period, and their first shot didn’t come until 11:15 into the period when Jacob Hayhurst made a quick shot on Francois Brassard.

On the Mariner’s third power play Grant Gabrielle found the back of the net to give Maine the initial lead at 3:35 in the second. The Railers would gain some momentum after heading on their first power play at 8:08 with Anthony Callin scoring his first professional goal on his first shot of the game from the left circle. 17 seconds later Andrei Bakanov slid across the crease to give the Railers a 2-1 lead. Callin would score again on a rebound a few minutes later. After a huge hit in the corner by Fedor Gordeev on Andrei Bakanov, a pane of glass popped out of the frame and landed in the stands, resulting in a pause in the game. Play resumed five minutes later with a little less than six minutes to play in the period with neither team scoring again in those remaining six minutes, Railers lead 3-1.

Despite a misconduct penalty for Josh Victor and a penalty for Brent Beaudoin, Worcester’s defense held strong for the remainder of the period. Maine pulled DiPietro in favor of an extra skater with less than three minutes left, but Worcester was able to successfully defend their lead and secure the win, even though they were outshot by Maine 50-19.

The three stars of Sunday afternoon’s game were:

  1. Henrik Tikkanen (Worcester) – win, 48 saves, 0.960 SV%
  2. Anthony Callin (Worcester) – 2 goals
  3. Alex Kile (Maine) – 1 goal, 1 assist

Reading Royals fell 3-2 to the Atlanta Gladiators in the only other north division game on Sunday. The Railers remain within reach of third place, trailing the Maine Mariners by two points with Maine having three games in hand, and hold a nine-point lead over the Adirondack Thunder who have two games in hand. Maine’s next seven games are all against teams outside of the north division, while the remaining games for Adirondack and Worcester are against north division teams, and eight of those games are against each other. This could spell for an interesting few weeks with playoff spots still up for grabs. Worcester’s magic number is 16.

With two wins over Maine this weekend, the Railers’ focus turns to the Adirondack Thunder, who they’ll face their next three games against beginning Wednesday night at the DCU Center, followed by a pair of games in Glens Falls on Friday and Saturday.

—

Stay in the loop and never miss an update on Worcester Railers hockey by following Woo Hockey on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also get involved and connect with other fans of the team in the Worcester Railers Fan Club Facebook group, where you can share your thoughts on the team and discuss all things hockey.

Box Score


Notes

  • Worcester scratches: Anthony Repaci, Bobby Butler, Christian Evers, Connor McCarthy, Jack Quinlivan, Max Johnson, Noah Delmas, and Quinn Ryan.
  • Maine scratches: Conner Bleackley, Jacob Wilson, Owen Norton, and Reid Stefanson.
  • Conor Breen was signed Sunday morning to another SPC and played in Sunday’s game. He is without a point in all fourteen games with Worcester this season. Connor McCarthy was out of the line-up after being placed on bereavement Sunday.
  • Following Sunday afternoon’s game, the Railers had the following scoring streaks and droughts:
    • Billy Jerry is without a point in his last three games.
    • Jacob Hayhurst is on a three-game point streak. (2-1-3)
    • Adam Goodsir is on a three-game point streak. (0-4-4)
    • Chris Ordoobadi is without a point in his last three games.
    • Conor Breen is without a point in his last fourteen games.
    • Jared Brandt is without a point in his last three games.
    • Zack Bross is without a point in his last seven games.
    • Josh Victor is without a point in his last three games.

Railers Lines

Forward Lines LW C RW
Forward Line 1 Adam Goodsir #18 Brent Beaudoin #12 Andrei Bakanov #23
Forward Line 2 Jacob Hayhurst #16 Billy Jerry #13 Nick Fea #22
Forward Line 3 Nolan Vesey #11 Liam Coughlin #7 Anthony Callin #17
Rotated Forwards Zack Bross #29 – Chris Ordoobadi #20
Defensive Pairings LD RD
Defense Pair 1 Jared Brandt #26 Myles McGurty #27
Defense Pair 2 Trevor Cosgrove #10 Philip Beaulieu #25
Defense Pair 3 Josh Victor #44 Conor Breen #21
Rotated Defensemen – –
Goalie Tandem G
Starting Goaltender Henrik Tikkanen #39
Backup Goaltender Ken Appleby #35

On-Ice Officials

– –
Referee Casey Terreri (14)
Referee Rocco Stachowiak (28)
Linesman Ryan Bradshaw (76)
Linesman Matthew Heinen (93)




Notable Tweets as the Game Happened


Railers Lines


Grant Gabriele Goal (1-0 Mariners)


Anthony Callin first goal (Tied 1-1)


Andrei Bakanov goal (2-1 Railers)


Anthony Callin second goal (3-1 Railers)


Alex Kile goal (3-2 Railers)